This month, GEMHYPE centers around tourmaline and its breathtaking variety of colors. It comes in more than fifty different shades, ranging from colorless to pink, red, yellow, brown, green and black. No other gemstone comes in so many color variations.
Tourmalines belong to the tourmaline group, a group of minerals of silicates. Although tourmaline has been known in the Mediterranean region since ancient times, Dutchmen first introduced it to Western and Central Europe from Ceylon (Sri Lanka) in 1703. Using a Sinhalese word, they refer to the new gemstones as "turmali," which means "stone of mixed colors".
Our team member Selina, Junior Key Account Manager at GEMHYPE, is an absolute fan of tourmaline:
"I especially like tourmaline because of the many different colors it comes in. In fact, however, the gray tourmaline is my absolute favorite. We have a gray tourmaline in the store that I really like because of its green tint."
The group of tourmalines includes a number of solid solutions, which have a complex and variable chemical composition, but the same crystal structure. Monochromatic tourmalines, on the other hand, are quite rare. As a rule, a single crystal has different shades or even different colors, which is why it is colloquially called a "rainbow stone". For example, there are stones whose core is red, the inner shell is white, and the outer layer is green. Others are red on the inside and have a green shell.
To help distinguish the unique variety of colors, single-color varieties of tourmaline - depending on the color scheme - have the following names:
Achroite: colorless or almost colorless (quite rare)
Rubellite: pink to red
Dravite: yellow-brown to dark brown
Verdelite: green in all shades
Indigolite: blue in all shades
Siberite: purple red to violet blue
Schorl: black
Of these monochrome tourmalines, you can find the red and pink Rubellite in 12 different varieties here in our store.
Tourmaline can be found almost everywhere in the world. Among them, however, Brazil is the most important tourmaline supplier. In the meantime, more and more tourmaline deposits are also found in Africa. Further deposits can be found in Australia, India, Madagascar, Mozambique, Myanmar, Sri Lanka and in the USA. Even in Europe, there are deposits, namely in Elba/Italy and in Switzerland (Ticino).
Characteristics & Facts
Tourmaline is the gemstone with the strongest dichroism. This means that each tourmaline crystal has two colors, whose intensity changes when the gemstone is viewed from different sides.
When tourmaline is heated to 450-650 degrees Celsius, a color change can be seen in some specimens. Green stones then take on a deeper emerald color, reddish brown stones a bright red, and others lighten.
Tourmaline is the first crystal in which the pyroelectric effect has been observed. When heated and then cooled or by friction, the crystal becomes electrically charged. It then attracts dust, ash or paper shavings, for example. Because of the strong pleochroism, dark stones must be cut so that the table lies parallel to the major axis. With light stones, on the other hand, the table surface should be perpendicular to the longitudinal axis so that a larger color axis is achieved. Because of these special electrical properties, tourmaline is also used in electronics.
In the royal class of colored gemstones, along with ruby, sapphire and emerald, Paraiba tourmaline is one of the most sought-after colored gemstones in the world. With its intensely luminous and characteristic turquoise-blue color, the gemstone has experienced a steep rise on the popularity scale and is now used not only for exclusive jewelry but is also considered a wearable investment. For more on Paraiba tourmaline, check out our blog: In the Royal Class of Colored Gemstones - Paraiba Tourmaline.
A multitude of mystical legends exist due to the gemstone's richness of color. The healing and lucky stone is said to have a positive effect on people who are currently experiencing a difficult phase in life, as it can increase self-confidence. Likewise, tourmaline is said to have a pleasing effect on the muscles of the body, allowing the nervous system to relax. It protects oneself from negative emotions of others and increases positive energy.
This is created from our tourmalines
- Customer jewelry –
Tourmaline is easy to work with due to its good hardness and relative insensitivity, making it a particularly popular gemstone for jewelry making.
Franziska Symank, a goldsmith with a passion and the founder of Goldversprechen reports why the gemstone tourmaline is her favorite and shows us which beautiful pieces of jewelry have been created from GEMHYPE tourmalines:
"Tourmalines are my absolute favorites among the colored gemstones! Their color variety is simply indescribable. No stone is the same as the other, which on the one hand is a great variety, on the other hand is a great challenge when you need the same stone again. But sometimes it is just that! The path is the goal and the joy becomes especially great when you find it." - Franziska Symank of Goldversprechen.
In her goldsmith workshop in Düsseldorf, each piece of jewelry is lovingly created by hand, individually and to the highest perfection. From the creation of wedding and engagement rings, from "everyday jewelry" to jewelry for unforgettable occasions, goldversprechen is the ideal companion.
(Website: www.goldversprechen.de / Instagram: goldversprechen)
Sources:
https://www.juwelo.de/edelsteinlexikon/turmalin/ https://praxistipps.focus.de/turmalin-wirkung-und-bedeutung-des-heilsteins_106863
https://www.carat-online.at/edelsteinlexikon/turmalin.html
Buch: Edelsteine und Schmucksteine, Autor: Walter Schumann, Verlag: blv